Alternatives to the Threshold Account

Abstract

Typically, it is thought that act-consequentialists are faced with a dilemma. Either, they state that only the best act available is permissible, in which case consequentialism is said to be too demanding, or they state that a non-optimising act can be permissible, if it is good enough, in which case it is claimed that they will have difficulties justifying any particular cut-off.¹ Then there is also an additional worry that, having failed to justify a cut-off, we could be left with a theory that doesn’t demand anything at all.² This problem arises because of the gradable nature of consequentialism.